Bush is a war criminal: Austria's Haider

Austrian right-wing populist Joerg Haider called US President
George W Bush a war criminal, days before Austria's government
hosts Bush and European leaders in Vienna.

Haider, whose group is part of Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang
Schuessel's government coalition, said Bush's meeting with his
European peers on Wednesday was pointless as he did not expect the
US president to pay attention to what Europe had to tell him.

"He is a war criminal. He brought about the war against Iraq
deliberately, with lies and falsehoods," Haider said in an
interview with Austrian daily newspaper Die Presse.

"The Iraqi population is suffering terribly. Bush took the risk
of an enormous number of victims," said Haider.

Maverick Haider is a personal friend of Libyan leader Muammar
Gaddafi and visited Iraq's former president Saddam Hussein shortly
before the US-led invasion started in 2003.

Austria's attitude towards the US has worsened over the past
three years, Die Presse reported separately, citing a Eurobarometer
poll.

The poll showed 62 per cent thought the US played a negative
role for world peace, up from 56 per cent in the same poll in 2003,
Die Presse said, and 49 per cent found the US role in fighting
terrorism negative.

1150569194516-smh.com.auhttp://smh.com.au/news/WORLD/Bush-is-a-war-criminal-Austrias-Haider/2006/06/18/1150569194516.htmlsmh.com.auAAP2006-06-18Bush is a war criminal: Austria's HaiderBreakingNewsWORLDPremium-BreakingWorld